Yes, the Supreme Court can overrule itself

“Justices of [the Supreme] Court are human beings, capable of erring. It will certainly be short-sighted arrogance not to accept this obvious truth. It is also true that this Court can do inestimable good through its wise decisions. Similarly, the Court can do incalculable harm through its mistakes. When therefore it appears to learned counsel that any decision of this Court has been given per incuriam, such counsel should have the boldness and courage to ask that such a decision be overruled. This Court has the power to overrule itself (and has done so in the past) for it gladly accepts that it is far better to admit an error than to persevere in error.”   Wrote the quintessential Hon. Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, JSC in Adegoke Motors v Adesanya [1989] 3 NWLR (Part 109) 250 (SC), 274G–275A .

And so when the apex court reversed its earlier dismissal of an appeal by GTBank against a N2.4 billion judgement given in favour of Innoson Motors Nigeria Limited by the Court of Appeal in Ibadan, Oyo State, veteran journalist Ikechukwu Amechi wrote:

“On January 14, 2020, a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Tanko Muhammad unanimously annulled the election of Governor Emeka Ihedioha in the March 9, 2019 governorship election and handed Hope Uzodimma victory on a platter of controversy. It was a judgement that confounded the entire nation. Uzodimma, candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, polled a paltry 96,458 votes in an election 70 candidates representing various political parties took part, to come a distant fourth. Ihedioha polled 273,404 in the same election and was dutifully declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

“Two years after, many are still scratching their heads, trying to come to terms with the verdict. Nigerians agreed that the Justices are human, after all, and, therefore, fallible. That being the case, it was agreed that if their error was pointed out to them, they would retrace their steps and mitigate what had already become an open sore on the country’s jurisprudence. So, going back to seek a reversal of the befuddling judgement was an attempt to save the Supreme Court from ridicule…”